Sponsored by: GRIFFIN BOOKSHOP
The Eucalyptus Dance by Ken Barlow is out in paperback at 17.50 euros.
Changing lives at 50 plus is not an easy option. So when Ken and Sue, an English couple, fell in love with Alombada, a small rural working village at the top of a mountain in the Beiras region of Portugal, a few days into their first holiday together they took a decision which completely altered their lives.
Over the two to three years it took to buy a field of brambles and build a home and holiday apartments, they kept a diary. The fun really started once they realised they would never require the Portuguese word for “bored”.
From the start, Ken and Sue faced setbacks at every stage, often appearing impossible, but they were made of sterner stuff and refused to give up, enjoying their new lives together and integrating fully into a community which hasn’t changed for generations.
Two characters really stand out: Natalio, a local farmer from whom they bought the overgrown piece of land and Augusto, a splendid, beaming villager who, with his wife, entertain Ken and Sue to traditional village feasts that last from noon until the last person goes home at night.
The tiny village of Alombada is so remote that delivery men, postmen, plumbers and bureaucrats alike have never heard of it and spend days searching for it in the vain hope of actually delivering something or finding the building site!
The builder, Adrio, sounds just like builders that those of us who live in the Algarve have dealt with, with the exception of being impossibly punctual.
The to-ing and fro-ing between the UK and Alombada with the progress meetings between Adrio, Ken and Sue as well as Aldina, the scatty lawyer, sound wearily familiar. Houses facing the wrong direction, a concrete slab where there should be a vaulted ceiling, ‘extras’ and lost files are problems that most of us have dealt with but Ken tells it in a lucid and entertaining manner.
Their refreshing and sometimes unconventional way of dealing with an intransigent, bureaucratic system is entertaining, exasperating and enjoyable, and the way in which they throw themselves into becoming part of local village life is heart-warming.
Being based on a diary, it unfolds like one and there are many tales and much detail of ‘delicious’ meals and strong drinks drunk!
The characters and locations are brought vividly to life and reading The Eucalyptus Dance made me want to visit the region as soon as possible!
Here is a excerpt from the book:
… Sue, heaving a great sigh, started to walk away with tears in her eyes.
I caught up with her, put my arms round her shoulders, looked her in the eyes and asked earnestly: “How much do you really want to live here?”
“Desperately.”
“Okay then, let’s go and see what can be done.”
… Just before noon, I glanced out of the window. Natalio was walking past pushing a wheelbarrow, which had the four legs of a porker sticking up in the air.
“I’ve just seen Tuesday’s lunch going by,” I called out.
“That’s what I call fresh.”
Ken Barlow and his partner Sue Cooper are now firmly installed in their five acres of land and spend their time tending the fields, gardens and vegetable patch as well as the two holiday apartments.
They run their own printing business, they write and even make chutneys, wine and Jeropiga.
They will be visiting the Algarve to talk about, and sign copies of their book at the Griffin Book Shop this spring.
